The Lion and The Snake
by mixtaper
Summary: After winding up in In-School Suspension and being forced to spend time alone together, Hermione and Pansy have just begun to notice their feelings for eachother - Femslash.
1. Chapter 1

**The Lion and the Snake**

"I'm almost positive that girl is a Death Eater." Ron scowled as he glared at Pansy Parkinson from across the classroom. He was seated next to Hermione and Harry as always. Hermione lifted her head from the dusty text book she had been closely reading while Harry stared at Draco Malfoy. It was just like any other day, tension slowly rising between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses. Hermione sighed and replied, "Ron, they're nothing but harmless, arrogant, vicious people. None of them is actually involved with Voldemort. We're only fourth years. Not even He would recruit children."

"I wouldn't be surprised." Harry said, still glaring at the frowning blonde boy seated in the back of the classroom.

Pansy shifted in her seat and looked over at the Gryffindors, only to see the Golden Trio staring back at her. She glared back, her olive green eyes turning a shade darker as they fell on the young heroine seated between the two boys.

Pansy Parkinson had always felt hostility towards Hermione Granger. Something about the girl made her temperature rise. Ever since they first met in the dining hall on their first year, she had felt odd around the other girl. The only name Pansy could find for these intense feelings was loathing. It filled her up every time she caught a glimpse of the know-it-all. It boiled up inside of her and her mind overflowed with rage, jealousy, and hatred. She could feel her skin tingle and her stomach drop. Her heart would quicken its pace and she would always find something sinister to say to the mudblood. No matter how cheerful Hermione would be before an encounter with Pansy Parkinson, she'd always leave with tears in her eyes or fists clenched in anger, Pansy watching her storm off while her lips began to form her trade-mark smirk.

Hermione could feel Pansy's eyes on her, as if they were searching for any sign of weakness. All she could do was return the stare and let the blood turn her cheeks a light red. She had never understood why the dark-haired girl hated her so. Perhaps it was because she hung around Malfoy so much. Perhaps it was because she was a Slytherin and Hermione a Gryffindor. But it had to be more than that.

Suddenly, class was over, putting an abrupt end to the staring contest that had begun to take place between the two tables. It was time for lunch, and the students filed out of the musty room. Pansy rudely pushed past Hermione and laughed when the girl dropped her load of books. Ron and Harry kindly bent down to pick them up as the young witch shot an ugly look at Parkinson. Hermione was in no mood for the Pansy's bullying.

As lunch was coming to an end and Hermione was about to get up from her seat to get some more pumpkin juice, she turned around and was met by the icy green eyes of Pansy Parkinson. Attempting to avoid confrontation, she tried to move around the girl. But as Hermione stepped to her left, Pansy stepped to her right, blocking the other from getting past her.

"Hello, Granger." Pansy said in a menacing voice. Her eyes fixed on Hermione's.

"What do you want, Parkinson?"

"Why all the hostility, Granger? Can't I just have a friendly conversation?" Pansy had suddenly felt the urge to bully the Gryffindor into submission and a crowd had gathered around the two, hoping to see a fight.

"Just let me go, Pansy. I'm not in the mood for your games."

"Who said it was a game? And even if it was, my parents always told me to never play with mudbloods." At this, Hermione felt her heart hammer in her chest. No matter how many times Pansy Parkinson had called her that, it always stung. It always struck a nerve deep within her and made the poor girl want to run to her bedroom and cry into a pillow. But she couldn't back down. She couldn't look weak in front of the other girl.

"What's wrong Granger? Don't enjoy being called a mudblood? Well, it's what you are. You can't run from that. It's such a shame that you've worked so hard at being a good little witch. Always having the right answers in class, always busy studying in that ancient library. But you'll never be as good as the purebloods. Real witches don't associate themselves with muggles." Pansy began to circle the other girl like a panther ready to pounce on its prey. She sized her up, checking every inch of the bushy-haired Gryffindor for the slightest sign of weakness. Disappointed that Hermione refused to react, she continued.

"You know, it's no wonder you always hang around boys. Other girls don't like being around filthy sluts." She spat out the last word. It was her last chance at truly hurting the girl.

Pansy began to laugh. She enjoyed mocking Hermione Granger more than anything else. To some, that may seem pathetic. But to her, it truly was a game. One that she made sure to indulge in every day. Pansy was constantly perfecting and working on her insults like a cat sharpening its claws for the next hunt. However, today was different. Hermione had clearly woken up in a much darker mood than usual. And Pansy Parkinson was far too busy laughing to notice the sharp right hook that sunk deeply into her left jaw.

The force knocked her down and she could feel the blood fill her mouth as she glared angrily at the mad girl standing above her. Her fellow Slytherins helped her up as she looked so intently at Hermione that she could almost feel her eyes piercing the other girl like daggers.

Pansy spat the large amount of blood that had pooled in her mouth onto Hermione's face and before you could say "___Avada Kedavra"__, Hermione was on top of the other witch, straddling Pansy's waist as she hit her repeatedly. Mustering all of her strength, Pansy flipped Hermione over and returned the punches. By then, the entire school was hollering and screaming._

_ "Fight, Fight, Fight..." they chanted as Ron, Harry, and Draco watched in horror as their best friends fought like angry muggles in the middle of the dining hall. The girl's wands had been thrown aside. This wasn't something that could be fought with magic. They wanted to ____feel__ themselves hurting the other._

Professor McGonagall was at the scene in seconds, pulling the two young witches off of each other. Even as she held both of their collars in her hands and tried desperately to keep them at arms length away from the other, they still threw punches and clawed at the air. The old woman practically dragged them into her office kicking and screaming. Forcing the girls into chairs seated in front of the woman's desk, she began to yell.

"What in the world has gotten into you?! Ms. Parkinson, I am not surprised to see that your constant tormenting of the other girls has resulted in something like this. But Ms. Granger, I surely would never have expected something like this from you. I always considered you to be one of the brightest students at this school." Hermione wiped the blood from her nose and stared at the floor. She couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with the professor.

McGonagall handed a tissue to the shamed witch so that she could wipe the blood and tears from her face. Returning to Pansy she said, "I will not have such savage, un-ladylike behavior in this school. Both of you shall be placed in In-School Suspension. You will spend every day for two weeks together. I'll be damned if you two cause a scene like the one you just made today. You both shall work out your differences or be expelled." Hermione gasped and Pansy began to feel ill at the thought of spending so much time with the know-it-all mudblood. Already feeling the bruises form on her face, Pansy suddenly took notice of the pain inflicted by the other girl and winced.

"Ms. Parkinson, after you go directly to the nurse's office, you'll return here to begin your punishment. Ms. Granger, go collect your books and come back here immediately."

Pansy quickly stormed out of Professor McGonagall's office. She had no idea how she was going to make it through two weeks of Hermione Granger.

The first day of their punishment was the longest. McGonagall had placed them both in the Room of Requirement where they would be under the supervision of one of the Hogwarts ghosts so that the professor could still teach her classes. The air inside of the room was quiet and the tension could be cut with a knife. The girl's meals would be served to them in the room and all of their homework and studying would take place there. Two desks had been set up facing each other with about five feet of space in between them. All Pansy Parkinson could do was glare at the witch who had caused her to be in this situation.

"Look at what you've done." She sneered.

"Look at what _I've_ done?! You started this, Parkinson."

"You hit me first, filthy mudblood!" As Pansy yelled, the words echoed off the stone walls, forcing Hermione to hear the last one more than once.

Hermione tried to calm herself. She couldn't get into another fight with Pansy or there was no telling what McGonagall would do. She looked across from her at the smug, dark-haired girl. It seemed like no matter how much Hermione tried to ignore that evil Slytherin princess, she always seemed to care about what the girl said. Something about her made her want to scream. Every move the pale girl made sent shivers down Hermione's spine. Every time Pansy would curl that devilish, blood red mouth to form a smirk or a frown, Hermione would feel her heart race. And whenever Pansy would try to stare her down with those murky green eyes, so full of hatred and loathing, she couldn't help but notice something else; a hint of sadness, loneliness. No matter how much the arrogant witch tried to hide it, Hermione knew that Pansy Parkinson wasn't the strong, mean witch she tried to be. And that was why Hermione Granger cared about what Pansy had to say. That was why her cruel remarks truly hurt the girl.

"What the hell are you staring at, Granger? I'm not sitting here to amuse your silly fantasies." Hermione jumped at the sound of Pansy's voice. She had lost herself into some sort of trance, distracted by those sparkling eyes.

"Shhh!" The Hogwarts ghost hissed as it passed by the girls. Pansy scowled at the insufferable creature and returned to doodling pictures in her notebook. As she finished drawing the rope that hung Professor McGonagall over a pool of angry crocodiles, she suddenly felt the urge to look up and see what Hermione was doing. She raised her eyes to see the girl intently reading from a book. Unsurprised, she began to look the Gryffindor nerd up and down, studying her face. Pansy had never really considered Hermione to be a pretty girl. But in the eerie glow of the candlelight, she noticed how perfect the features of the girl's face were. Every so often, Hermione would sigh and tuck a piece of soft, curly brown hair behind her ear. Pansy could feel her heart quicken its pace. Pansy began to notice how incredibly adorable the heroine looked as she would frown, furrow her brow, and look more closely at the text. Hermione's fingers would run slowly over a page and Pansy couldn't help but wonder how those hands would feel like in her own.

_Snap out of it, Parkinson!_, she thought to herself. There was no way Pansy Parkinson could have a crush on the mudblood. Everything about her was wrong, but Pansy couldn't help how beautiful she thought the Gryffindor was.

"Now look who's staring." Pansy quickly lowered her eyes and focused more intently on the enormous pile of homework in front of her.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione woke up the next morning to the sound of sharp, rapidly falling raindrops stinging her window. Thunder roared in the distance and rough gusts of wind caused the outer shudders to smack at the stone Hogwarts walls violently. She let out a frustrated sigh and began to change into her school uniform, ignoring the silent snoring of Ginny Weasley and bright flashes of lighting that illuminated the entire room. Hermione softly laughed to herself as she thought of how the approaching storm was just an imminent threat of what was to come in the Room of Requirement, another long day of studying across from Pansy Parkinson.

Pansy smiled to herself as she woke from her peaceful slumber. She loved waking up to the sounds of thunder and rain. The girl couldn't stand the sight of bright, sunny, cheerful weather.

Late, as usual, Pansy began to collect her things. Sifting through her laundry, she found several of her schoolbooks and her wand. She quickly grabbed some clean clothes, slung her tie around her neck, and threw her cloak over her shoulder. Instead of making a mad dash out of her room and to her class like most students would do when running fifteen minutes late for first period, she simply took a slow, leisurely walk to the Room of Requirement, making sure to take some time to enjoy the tumultuous weather.

"You're late." Hermione said as soon as she saw Pansy walk through the door.

"Well, punctuation has never been my forte." Pansy replied casually as she took her seat in the old desk facing Hermione.

"Where is that ghost that is supposed to be watching over us?" She asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him either. I read that some ghosts have trouble emerging in poor weather." Hermione said with a hint of worry in her voice. She had no idea what Pansy may do while they were alone together unsupervised.

"…well in that case…we'll be alone without that nosy corpse lingering over our heads and there is no way I'm going to spend my time in here doing any of this shit." Pansy casted her books aside and began to take a mild interest in the ceiling with her arms folded behind her head and a bored expression on her face.

Hermione scowled and reached for another book before realizing that she had finished all of her homework the night before, leaving her with nothing to do but rest her head in her hands and audibly sigh.

A few moments later, Hermione sighed again. The boredom was finally starting to set in.

"What are you doing?" Pansy asked, annoyed.

"Sighing."

"Well, stop. It's beginning to sound like you have a slow leak."

Hermione frowned and looked away, thinking up a list of things she would rather be doing now and who she would rather be doing them with. Playing cards with Malfoy, having a dull conversation about Quidditch with Harry and Ron, even selling prank candies to first years with the Weasley twins – anything but sitting here, in this quiet room, across from the one girl she loathed.

"There are about a million other things I would like to be doing other than this too you know." Pansy announced after noticing the dreamy look in Hermione's eyes.

"Such as? Shoving our fellow students into puddles of mud? Snogging Draco in a broom closet?"

Pansy let out a low growl and restrained herself from the great urge to beat Hermione Granger to a pulp. The seemingly placid and rather mild comment greatly angered her. She was surprised at its affect, as she had heard much worse from the other girls.

"Any matters regarding Draco and I are none of your business, mudblood."

"Why can't you come up with another insult? It's beginning to lose its affect you know."

"Hmm… if you're growing bored of that particular one, I can come up with some others if you like." Pansy flashed a fake toothy grin, exposing her sharp white canines and causing Hermione to visibly shudder.

Pansy shifted her attention to the desk before her, carving her name into the soft, rotting wood.

"What are you doing?!" Hermione asked alarmed.

"Why must you know, dyke?" Pansy smirked at Hermione's shocked reaction at the insult. The girl began to sputter incoherent syllables and her face turned a bright red.

"'Dyke' it is then." Pansy grinned and returned to her carving.

"Why do you insist on being s-such a r-rude, indecent human being?" Stuttered Hermione. All Pansy could do was smile and resist the temptation to burst out laughing at the girl's jumbled slur.

"Why do you insist on being such a bitch?!" Hermione cried, incredibly angered by Pansy's response. It echoed off the walls and surprised both of the girls. A deafening roar of thunder went unnoticed. Pansy had never heard Hermione use a swear word, and Hermione didn't realize she had it in her.

Pansy glared intently at the other girl and then looked down, ashamed. She was beginning to feel like she was pushing Hermione off the edge. Bullying the bright, clumsy Gryffindor was becoming less amusing and the darker-haired schoolgirl was even beginning to regret what she had said earlier.

"I-I'm sorry." Hermione said when she noticed the absence of Pansy's usual retorts and the sad look on her face.

Pansy looked up and then diverted her eyes away from Hermione's.

"I didn't mean to-"

"Yes you did. Now go back to your precious books and leave me alone." Pansy interrupted.

Hermione continued to look at the girl sadly. She regretted what she called her, but she knew it was justified. She always wondered how such a pretty girl could be so evil at times.

The truth was Hermione couldn't deny she had feelings for Pansy, no matter how much she tried. And the quick look of hurt in Pansy's eyes tugged at her heart. Hermione usually wasn't one to suppress her feelings, but with Pansy it was different. Pansy wasn't like all of Hermione's other silly schoolgirl crushes. Not like Fleur or Padma and Parvati. She wasn't a cute French girl visiting from another school or a catty twin. She was a vain, misunderstood, gorgeous tormented soul who Hermione, despite what she thought she felt, was beginning to fall for.


End file.
